Montreal Alouettes eliminate in-house dance team, partner with Carabins cheerleaders

Photo: Montreal Alouettes

The Montreal Alouettes have partnered with the Université de Montréal Carabins cheerleaders to become their official stunt team, officially eliminating the in-house dance team.

“We are very happy to be joining forces with the Carabins family at the Université de Montréal and their cheerleading team,” senior vice-president, chief operating and financial officer René Masson said in a statement. “We would like to thank everyone who contributed to our dance team over the past two years. We look forward to working with our new team and remain confident that they will amaze fans at our games. The entire university network will benefit from this great showcase, which will help further promote and highlight cheerleading.”

Montreal has undergone significant changes to its cheerleading team over the last half a decade. In February 2020, the team was disbanded following the purchase of the franchise by then-owners Sid Speigel and Gary Stern, citing financial concerns. However, public backlash caused the reinstatement of the cheer team just six days later.

The organization’s focus changed once again in 2024, under the leadership of current owner Pierre-Karl Péladeau. The cheerleaders were rebranded as the dance team, and leadership was outsourced to Studio Innova Danse, increasing the focus on on-field dance variety and choreography.

This latest pivot will see the Carabins’ team, which was founded in 2002 and made an official school sport in 2010, perform stunt performances at every home game in 2026. The group consists of 35 student-athletes, both male and female.

“Performing in a professional environment with the Alouettes provides an exceptional showcase and directly contributes to expanding the visibility of cheerleading,” Carabins head cheerleading coach Karolane Landry said as part of the announcement. “It’s not just progress for one team; it’s progress for the entire sport. It’s an important step toward lasting recognition. Seeing university cheerleading take its place on a major sports stage allows the next generation to envision going even further.”

While the change is not considered a substantial one for the fan experience, it has raised concerns that Péladeau is cutting corners financially. The Quebec media magnate was praised at the time of his purchase for a lack of focus on immediate profitability, but has since changed his tune, with the departure of president Mark Weightman and the organization’s decision not to directly replace him seen as a turning point.

The Montreal Alouettes finished second in the East Division standings in 2025 with a 10-8 record and beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Final before losing the 112th Grey Cup to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Davis Alexander went 7-0 as a starter during the regular season, though he missed 11 games due to a hamstring injury.

The Alouettes ranked eighth in net offence, first in net defence, and third with a turnover differential of plus-eight. The club’s leading rusher was Stevie Scott III with 418 yards, the leading receiver was Tyler Snead with 1,129 yards, and the leading tackler was Darnell Sankey with 103 tackles. Montreal finished sixth in attendance with average crowds of 21,132, which was a 0.8 percent decrease from the previous year.